2014/15 budget N$60b surprise

19 Feb 2014 19:00

During the tabling of the 2014/15 budget this afternoon, the Minister of Finance, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, highlighted the total expenditure outlay as N$60.28b for this financial year, making it a 22% increase from last year's.

The operational expenditure for the 2014/15 financial year has also increased with 29.1% to N$48b from last year's N$14.58b, due to civil servants' salary increments.The operational budget also amounts to a total of N$9.5b for infrastructural development in the energy and transport sectors within State-owned Enterprises (SoEs).As usual, the Ministry of Education received the largest share of the cake amounting to N$13.1b, which is approximately 22.7% of the entire budget and N$1.2b less than what it hoped to get this year.“The allocation will help fund the development and upgrading of educational facilities, provide teachers' accommodation, learning materials, recruitment of qualified teachers, support for institutions of higher learning and vocational training, as well as increase financial assistance to students to access tertiary education,” said Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.The old age grants remain the same (N$because they were increased in both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 budgets.A few ministries and what they received - Defense: N$6.6m; Health: N$6m; Gender Equality and Child Welfare: N$721 101; Works and Transport: N$4.7m; Youth: N$709 245; ECN: N$374 680; Trade and Industry: N$1m; Regional and Local Government: N$2 648 988; Agriculture Water and Forestry: N$2 618 452; Mines and Energy: N$869 453; Environment and Tourism N$725368; Land and Resettlement: N$590026.